A Phase II Study of Adjuvant Chemotherapy of Tegafur-Uracil for Patients with Breast Cancer with HER2-negative Pathologic Residual Invasive Disease After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: There is no consensus on the need for adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with pathological residual invasive breast cancer (non-pCR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). We evaluated the tolerability and safety of tegafur-uracil (UFT) as adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative breast cancer that resulted in non-pCR after NAC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We treated patients with 270 mg/m2 UFT per day for 2 years after definitive surgery and radiotherapy, if necessary. In cases with hormone-sensitive cancer, patients received concurrent endocrine therapy. The primary end-point was the rate of completion of scheduled UFT therapy. Secondary end-points included safety and disease-free survival. RESULTS: Twenty-one out of 29 patients (72%) completed the scheduled therapy. Eight patients discontinued the study treatment because of disease recurrence, toxicities, and patients' wish. Excluding liver dysfunction, adverse events were quite mild. CONCLUSION: Adjuvant UFT therapy after NAC was feasible and safe.

[A Case of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Breast].

Squamous cell carcinoma(SCC)of the breast is a rare disease. We encountered a case of SCC of the breast that relapsed in the early postoperative period and rapidly progressed thereafter. A 38-year-old woman visited our hospital presenting with a tumor in the left breast consisting of a 5-cm mass with an irregularly sharped wall. Fine needle biopsy examination showed squamous cell carcinoma. A modified radical mastectomy by Auchincloss's method was performed on the left breast. SCC was confirmed by histological examination. Two months later, local recurrence on the chest wall was found during adjuvant chemotherapy. Thereafter, the disease rapidly progressed, and finally, the patient died of respiratory failure caused by lung metastasis. The prognosis of SCC of the breast is recognized as being more unfavorable than that of invasive ductal carcinoma. We should develop an effective chemotherapeutic strategy for this disease.